OnePlus 9 Pro in Australia

Lsydburgers on 26/03/2021 - 14:08
Last edited 26/03/2021 - 14:11

I'm planning to get a OnePlus 9 Pro as my Pixel 3XL is dying and am looking for flagship specs with an Android experience as pure as possible (Samsung's a no-no for me).

Anyone knows where I can get it? It doesn't seem to be available on Kogan yet. And I'm not sure which variant to get in regards to bands (ideally want it to work with 5g here).
I've found it on AliExpress OnePlus Store but am slightly worried about warranty compared to what Kogan will (or might?) offer. Also not sure if this version will work nicely with bands here. It says Features———-CN Version With Global ROM, support Google Service, Multi-languages and OTA update

Any help appreciated as my current phone is a brick!

Cheers

Mobile Mobile Phone OnePlus Android

Comments

  • Hithere on 26/03/2021 - 14:36
    +2

    Don't overlook that if you do purchase from AliExpress you'll have to factor in the extra cost of importing anything over $1000.00.

    It must be cleared by submitting a import declaration form and paying duty and GST, thanks to Gerry Harvey.

  • fredskis on 26/03/2021 - 14:40
    +2

    I used forward2me to freight forward from the OnePlus UK store.
    UK variant = global variant = all the bands, howevs, usually most expensive.
    Paired with 28 Degrees = who cares about price when Amazon will sell it cheaper within a year and I can get the $ back.

    They currently have a pre-order bonus of either the 50W wireless charger or the Buds Z, I went for the charger.
    I believe the US store only has the buds as a pre-order bonus.

    • rpl on 26/03/2021 - 14:53

      I do not see the 50W wireless charger bonus option anymore, only buds. Also, do you get the foreign currency transaction fee back with 28 degrees?

      • fredskis on 26/03/2021 - 15:19
        +1

        Ah, shame if it's not available anymore.

        28 Degrees don't charge any conversion fees. You get charged the foreign amount at MasterCard's exchange rate for that day (no bank fees): https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/personal/get-support/convert…
        I use it all the time for paying anything in a foreign currency, it's better than other payment methods that make it "easy" but lump their fees into the rate (i.e. PayPal)

        In past claims I've used the AUD value that's on my statement as the "purchase price" and whatever the advertised sale price is as the price to match (whether Kogan, Amazon, etc).

        • Jipethamka on 29/03/2021 - 00:41

          Hi fredskis,

          so do you need to pay for the import tax and thing? how much total in the end for that phone? i would love to buy one too but cant find anywhere else here yet. Thanks

          • fredskis on 28/04/2021 - 20:05

            @Jipethamka: Hi, very sorry about the late reply. Yes, the way I went is the most expensive and you will pay import tax unless you forge the invoice you provide to the freight forwarder (as they use that to forward on to the courier). Either way, due to the way taxes work and reputable businesses operate, they freight forward should still charge you GST on the cost of the goods (if under $1000) to forward to the ATO and then you wouldn't pay import fees at customs (via the courier), however, obviously this is illegal and carries other risks.

            Overall it cost me around $1850 AUD (phone + freight forwarder fees + shipping + import duties).

    • Era on 27/03/2021 - 19:41

      I would like to purchase one as well either 128gb or 256gb.

      Is there a way for not paying VAT, because here we will end up paying the GST as well.

      Or what is the cheapest way to purchase this phone?

  • NotAnAudiophile on 26/03/2021 - 15:24

    I would have gone Oneplus, but the support and VoltE of the Galaxy was just a better experience, coming from a mi 10 Ultra. So S21 Ultra it was.

    • fredskis on 26/03/2021 - 15:45

      I think that's a fair point to make. If you rely on VoLTE, then you shouldn't really consider OnePlus, unfortunately. Fingers crossed one day they bring back Australian support for it.

  • loropy9 on 26/03/2021 - 18:17

    I’ve read that the Android 11 version of Oxygen OS is very similar to Samsung os. Some oneplus users were reportedly disappointed by this change.

  • NotAnAudiophile on 27/03/2021 - 06:52

    To be fair, I was a once a oneplus 6 user before. Oxygen os is probably still the best os going on today, even though samsung is not far behind.

    • sydburgers on 27/03/2021 - 09:43

      I think Pixel still wins but Oxygen OS is not far behind. The pixel team lost a bit of their momentum on the camera front since their lead engineer moved to Adobe. And their sensors are old.
      Hopefully OP and Hasselblad can iterate on the camera software to release some meaningful updates. All the hype was basically a marketing stunt and they need to do more than small colour tuning and an orange shutter button to prove the community that it's not just a stunt.

  • sydburgers on 27/03/2021 - 09:39

    Thanks gents. Didn't know about the 28 degrees price match thingy, that's pretty cool!

    I've found it here at Expansys for AU. Still in pre-order but there's some better levels of "local support" and all the GST/import shite is handled by them (can't be arsed really).

  • tonyleee on 27/03/2021 - 19:51

    Tips for Buying OnePlus in Australia > GizmoWeek

  • mathewparet on 28/03/2021 - 00:51

    You should be able to get it via DickSmith

    https://www.dicksmith.com.au/da/oneplus/shop/phones/android/

    You may need to wait for a month or so after the phone is release worldwide. But if you buy through DickSmith you get it covered by the mandatory warranty as per Australian Law

    • Mattycee on 31/03/2021 - 18:04

      I do not believe you will be covered by Australian Law as you are buying an product not available locally. I do not think you will be able to get the 2nd year of statutory warranty or extra benefits afforded to Australian local stock. I may be mistaken and happy to be corrected if I am.

      • mathewparet on 03/04/2021 - 22:25

        Check this out - https://www.dicksmith.com.au/da/direct-import/

        Scroll down to "Do direct import products come with a warranty?"

        Do direct import products come with a warranty?

        Of course! All direct import products are covered by the Customer Charter and come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. You may also choose to purchase 3 Year Extended Care including Mishap Protection to protect your devices against accidental damage from drops and spills. If you are interested please see our Extended Care Information here.

        • Mattycee on 04/04/2021 - 10:18

          Read the whole page and see that over $1000 is 2 years warranty anyway!

          • mathewparet on 18/04/2021 - 21:12

            @Mattycee: Yep. Did you decide to buy?

            I saw a listing in Amazon. But they won't be able to give warranty. I am wondering whether third-party insurances would cover.

            I've been religiously checking DickSmith website every morning, noon, and night and the listings are still "coming soon".

  • ronitdias on 28/03/2021 - 10:09
    +1

    I'm using the OnePlus 7T, due for an upgrade but can't get myself to spending 1100+ AUD for compromises, my 7T hasn't received the 11 update yet and the battery life has really taken a hit over the time. Also seeing OP turn into a flagship and start to move away from enthusiast value:feature model is kinda bumming. After using OP for almost 5 years, I think its time to move on.

  • sydburgers on 29/03/2021 - 08:16

    FYI it looks like the US variant might be better suited than the global one here: https://www.kimovil.com/en/frequency-checker/AU/oneplus-9-pr…

    • IcePowered on 29/03/2021 - 08:59

      mmwave bands are somewhat pointless at this stage because I wouldn't expect to be able to access mmWave 5G until at least next year, and even then coverage will be extremely limited.

  • worthy1 on 29/03/2021 - 21:24

    So i asked the Oneplus 'official' store on Aliexpress since they are having a sale at the moment. I wanted to find out which pro model they sell will be compatible here. Response:

    Thank you for contacting us.
    The network frequency bands of different countries are different, and the network frequency bands supported by different operators are also different.
    In order to ensure that you can use the mobile phone and network normally, we recommend that you confirm the network frequency bands with your carrier:
    Oneplus 9 pro CN version with global Rom
    2G - GSM：B2, 3, 5, 8; CDMA：BC0
    3G - WCDMA：B1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 19
    4G - LTE-FDD：B1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26
    4G - LTE-TDD：B34, 38, 39, 40, 41
    5G - NSA：N41, 78, 79
    5G - SA：N1, 3, 28A, 41, 78, 79

    Oneplus 9 CN version with global Rom
    2G - GSM：B2, 3, 5, 8; CDMA：BC0
    3G - WCDMA：B1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 19
    4G - LTE: B1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41
    MIMO：LTE：B1, 3, 39, 41; NR: n1, 3, 41, 78, 79
    5G - NSA：N41, 78, 79
    5G - SA：N1, 3, 28A, 41, 78, 79
    Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you. I'm happy to help.
    Have a good day!
    Jeff
    Oneplus Official Store

    No Band 28, or is the 28a under 5G compatible for the 28 we normally look for under 4G? Or is it the fact it is a CN version with global rom installed?

    • sydburgers on 30/03/2021 - 08:48

      FYI even with the sale, it looks like the US one from OnePlus US store is the same price. I paid $US 1,078 and it has already shipped. It will cost roughly $50 with ShopMate to get it here, plus import tax (which is the biggest inconvenient to do it this way). All up I'm expecting to pay around $AU 1,600

      • worthy1 on 30/03/2021 - 09:06

        Thanks for that. I am actually leaning towards the S21 Ultra now. I am a Oneplus fan and still rocking the 6T but just thought about how with the S21 trade in deal i can get an ultra for sub $900. I think the local support and the fact that i can potentially trade it in for another discount down the track for a newer model is a better option.

      • Era on 31/03/2021 - 10:28

        Hi Syd, I tried purchasing it the same way but I can't sign up or receive any of the emails, do you have any idea why this is happening?

        • Jipethamka on 31/03/2021 - 12:50

          https://bestmobilephone.com.au/oneplus-9-pro/

          Its already on some website now you can buy. and it also include one year warranty. hope that's help. I have been looking for many days and finally it came last night and i just bought one.

          or this website is cheaper but it doesnt have the whitemist colour to choose. https://www.expansys.com.au/store/oneplus/

          • Era on 31/03/2021 - 18:08

            @Jipethamka: I think these are all Chinese version with Global ROM but the one in US is US Version or maybe Global Version?

        • sydburgers on 31/03/2021 - 13:14

          I had to change the region of the oneplus store to US. If you have an account created in the Aussie store, it won't work. If that's the case, you might need to create a new account with a different email in the US store

          • Era on 31/03/2021 - 18:16

            @sydburgers: Do you know roughly how long it takes to receive the phone?

            • sydburgers on 02/04/2021 - 04:03

              @Era: OnePlus US store will ship within two days of order. Two days to get to ShopMate warehouse. You'll get a notification that the parcel arrived within two days (usually one day). From that point on, you need to declare the contents, do some extra stuff since the item is over $1000 but ShopMate has a customs broker you can use and pay. 5-8 business days before you get it. So all up roughly two weeks.

  • sydburgers on 06/04/2021 - 17:16

    Update on costs to import from US:
    - OP pro $US 1,078 = $1,412
    - ShopMate fee: $36
    - Customs brokerage (can't be arsed doing it myself): $105
    - GST: $141

    Total: ~$1,700

    Not the cheapest or easiest option but I wanted the US version which seems hard to get with grey import.

    • Mattycee on 07/04/2021 - 16:34
      +1

      Thanks for the update on the pricing. Are you on Telstra as I would be interested if you can try and get 5G, VoWifi/LTE working on it when it arrives.

  • Zippy7 on 28/04/2021 - 21:15

    I'm an owner of an Aussie OP5 - it was a great phone at the time, but they "settled" and stopped giving it the support it was due long before they officially ended support for it.
    I'm rocking a Pixel 4XL and still very happy with it.

    I found that after release, OP spend most of their tech resources on the new models and don't spend much time on existing models. Quite a few software update releases were buggy (OP fault, not Google). They didn't spend much effort to even give security updates in a timely manner.

    I really did want to upgrade and stay in the OP family, but they even shut down the Aus/NZ sub-forum on their user forums.

    Good luck if you proceed, but I won't be giving them my money again. I'll be sticking with Pixels for the pure android experience, and also the timely updates.

    • Mattycee on 29/04/2021 - 08:03

      That is fair enough and totally true. I still bought the OnePlus 9 Pro but it was a battle to secure and cost me more than I really wanted once I was slugged the import duty and GST, but I do like the close to stock Android and the speed of the phone compared to my S21 Ultra.

      On a side note I was able to make VoLTE/Wifi and 5G work perfectly also!

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